1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for remotely affixing and removing decorative lighting from gutters of a building, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for affixing and removing strands of electric holiday lights from house gutters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Decorative lighting is often placed on gutters of structures, such as buildings and houses. This is particularly true during various holiday seasons, most notably the Christmas season, when many people enjoy decorating their houses and yards. The decorative lighting used is typically “strings” or “strands” of electric bulbs. The strands come in various lengths with various numbers and sizes of bulbs distributed along the strand length. There are a variety of types of strands marketed for outdoor use, some of which are particularly suited for affixing to a structure such as a house. One such type is commonly referred to as “icicle” lights, which has short segments of lights depending or hanging downwardly along the length of the light strand. Oftentimes, light strands are affixed or “hung” from rain gutters attached to the house. Since the light strands do not include a means for affixing the strands to the house or gutters, various devices are available for attaching light strands to the house and/or gutters.
Gutters are typically at a greater height than a person can reach while standing on the ground below. As a result, the homeowner or person typically uses a ladder to put up and take down strands of lights from the gutter. The required use of a ladder presents several risks and difficulties. For some people, physical limitations do not allow them to get up on a ladder. Additionally, there is always a risk of falling off the ladder, a risk that is somewhat greater when the ground support for the ladder may be constricted, obstructed, unlevel or soft. Quite commonly, there are physical obstructions to placing the ladder in the needed position adjacent to the building because of trees, bushes or other plants or shrubbery. Furthermore, many existing devices for affixing lights to a gutter require both hands to install, leaving no means for safely balancing or grasping a ladder. The difficulty of this process is further compounded due to the fact that in many regions holiday decorating takes place in wet, cold or icy conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,905, issued to Bentivegna, for “Ornament Handling Apparatus,” discloses an apparatus for handling ornaments and other objects, including an elongated handle and a hook-shaped applicator. The applicator is attached to one end of the elongated handle and a hook receiving hole extends partially into the applicator to hold the ornament hook therein. The apparatus includes a retriever for removing ornaments and an applicator affixed to a connector for attachment to an elongated handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,058, issued to Protz, Jr., for “Light Clip for Shingles or Gutters,” discloses a light clip for holding a light bulb with an attachment portion for removably mounting the light clip to a support surface such as a shingle or gutter without putting holes in the gutters or shingles. The attachment portion has a mechanism with a plurality of discrete stop positions, and cooperates with a bulb holder having connecting prongs. The mechanism with discrete stops cooperates with the prongs to mount the bulb holder to the attachment portion and to provide a plurality of discrete angular positions of a bulb carried by the bulb holder with respect to the attachment portion. The gutter attachment portion is capable of mounting to a variety of gutter shapes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,334, issued to Cedillo, for “Light Hanging Extension Device and Method for Using Same,” discloses a device for storing and hanging a continuous string of lights on a tree. The device includes a spool assembly having first and second annular plates spaced apart and connected to a cylinder member. One of the annular plates is adapted to releasably secure an end portion of the string of lights in a fixed position. An axle structure is removably secured within a bore of the cylinder member. The axle structure has a holding mechanism releasably securing the axle structure to the cylinder member. A handle is coaxially mounted to the axle structure. An elongated pole is provided having a first end portion removably coaxially secured to the handle. The elongated pole is sized for extending and elevating the spool assembly upwardly in close adjacency with branches of a tree when a user grasps a second end portion of the elongated pole. The spool assembly can be moved around a perimeter of the tree to enable the string of lights of be progressively strung about the tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,975, issued to Casper, for “Decorating System,” discloses a decorating system that enables decorative articles to be hung from high places with safety. The decorating system comprises a dual hook and an adapter. The dual hook has a ring, a first hook, and a second hook. The decorative article is held by the second hook. The adapter is attached to the end of a pole and has a finger that is insertable into the dual hook ring, much like a carnival game. A user manipulates the pole to locate the dual hook over a selected support member and then the dual hook is lowered slightly to rest the first hook on the support member. The adapter finger is then removed from the dual hook ring. To take down the decorative article, the adapter finger is reinserted into the dual hook ring, and the pole is manipulated to lift the dual hook off the support member and return the dual hook and decorative article to the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,291, issued to Tortajada, for “Implement and System for Remotely Affixing and removing Decorations and Other Objects,” discloses an article for affixing and removing a strand of lights or other decorations to and from a particular place such as a roof, gutter or tree, and a method for performing those tasks. An elongated positioning implement has a substantially U-shaped distal end for receiving and holding a wire or light strand. A dividing post is located between the fingers of the U-shape. A downwardly oriented finger can also be attached to a portion of the U-shaped distal end. A temporary hanger may be put in place on a gutter on a building using the positioning implement. Once the temporary hanger is in place, the positioning implement is used to affix the strand of lights by placing it on the temporary hanger. The positioning implement can also be used to remove both the strand of lights and the temporary hook simultaneously.
It would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for allowing a person to affix and remove decorations such as holiday lights at a height greater than the reach of the person and without using a ladder. It would be further desirable to have an apparatus and method that would permit a user to affix and remove holiday lights on a gutter of a house while standing on the ground. It would be further advantageous to provide an easy to use means for affixing a removable hanger to a gutter without the need for a ladder. Additionally, it would be advantageous to use a positioning implement in conjunction with a hanger for temporarily affixing the hanger on a gutter from which to hang decorations, such as a strand of lights. Another advantage would be for the temporary hanger to cause no permanent damage or other lasting after effects to the gutter. Another advantage of such a system would be for all items put in place with the positioning implement to be easily removable by the user without the need for a ladder. It would also be advantageous to provide means for a removable hanger to become attached to the item being hung, such as a strand of holiday lights, so that, when the hanging item is removed, the removable hanger is prevented from being lost, or falling into the gutter, for example.